Pope Francis deplored on Sunday the death of two women on Saturday in a Catholic parish in Gaza where “defenseless civilians” are targeted by shooting and bombings.
“I continue to receive very serious and painful news from Gaza. Defenseless civilians are the target of bombing and shooting. A mother and her daughter (…) were killed and other people injured by sniper fire “declared the sovereign pontiff at the end of the Angelus prayer.
“This happened even inside the parish of the Holy Family where there are no terrorists but families, children, sick or disabled people”underlined the Pope.
A mother and her daughter were killed on Saturday by an Israeli soldier in the complex housing the only Catholic church in Gaza City, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said the same day.
“Around noon today, an Israeli army sniper killed two Christian women in the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Gaza’s Christian families have found refuge since the start of the war” between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas, the Patriarchate said in a statement.
“Nahida and her daughter Samar were shot and killed while walking towards the Sisters’ Convent”added the press release, without specifying the age of the victims.
Seven other people were injured by gunfire while trying to protect themselves from gunfire in the parish, according to the same source.
“Someone says it’s terrorism, it’s war. Yes, it’s war, it’s terrorism (…) let’s pray to the Lord for peace”concluded the Pope on Sunday, his 87th birthday.
The Israeli army has been waging an intense military campaign in the Gaza Strip against Hamas since the massacres committed by commandos of the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7 on Israeli soil.
According to Israel, 1,139 people, mostly civilians, were killed in this attack.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to“annihilate” Hamas, shelling Palestinian territory and carrying out a vast ground operation there.
The Hamas Ministry of Health reported Friday that 18,800 people had died in Israeli bombings, mostly civilians.